Burden of disease in Spanish population under 15 years old in 1999

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Burden of disease (DALYs) can help define health priorities. Our objective was to assess DALYs of those illnesses most important in Spanish children and teenagers. MATERIAL AND METHOD: We calculated DALYs components (YLL, YLD) by age groups and sex. Sources used were Spanish mortality data and WHO DALY's estimates. RESULTS: Total DALYs was 46.57/1000 habitants and it was highest in children aged less than 1 year. The first cause was represented by non-communicable diseases and the second by communicable-perinatal diseases in less than 1 year and 1-4 years and injuries in 5-14 years. CONCLUSIONS: DALYs is a good indicator to define health's population.